NY workers fired for refusing vaccine won't get unemployment insurance

New York state workers who are fired for refusing to get vaccinated are not eligible for unemployment insurance, Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Saturday - just two days before the deadline for workers to get the jab.

New York City teachers and state health care workers in hospitals and nursing homes have to prove that they received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Monday.

The only exception to the vaccine mandate is a valid, doctor-approved request for medical accommodation.

The governor made the ramifications clear during Saturday's announcement of a contingency plan to address potential staffing shortages in hospitals and other health care facilities statewide.

Hochul specifically referred to hospital workers, but New York City is bracing for a similar situation, with about 13 percent of roughly 78,000 teachers are currently not vaccinated, an education department official said on Twitter.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a Thursday press conference that 'thousands and thousands of vaccinated, experienced substitute teachers ready to go' if unvaccinated teachers don't show up for work.

Union leaders have called on the mayor to push back the deadline and slammed the band-aid approach of deploying substitutes as 'irresponsible.'

'I believe that the mayor thinks that a body is a body — get them... (Read more)

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